Whs English 3 Vocab Test 1

Front 1

acquisitive

Back 1

(adj.) able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property
In an acquisitive society, there is a great deal on buying and selling.
SYNONYMS: greedy, grasping avaricious, retentive.
ANTONYMS: altruistic, unretentive.

Front 2

animadversion

Back 2

(n.) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval.
The inexperienced filmmaker was disheartened by the animadversion of the film critic.
SYNONYMS: rebuke, reproof
ANTONYMS: praise, compiment

Front 3

banal

Back 3

(adj.) hackneyed, trite, commonplace
the new play's banal dialogue made it seem more like a soap opera than a serious drama.
SYNONYMS: stale, insipid
ANTONYMS: fresh, novel, original, new

Front 4

celerity

Back 4

(n.) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action
Although the heavy snowfall was not expected, the highway department responded with surprising celerity.
SYNONYMS: promptness, alacrity, speed
ANTONYMS: slowness, sluggishness, dilatoriness

Front 5

congeal

Back 5

(v.) to change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible or rigid.
if you do not wash your dishes right away, the food on them will congeal

Front 6

decry

Back 6

(v.) to condemn, express strong disapproval; to officially depreciate.
Every arm of government and every education institution should decry bigotry in all its forms.

Front 7

eschew

Back 7

(v.) to avoid, shun, keep away from
the young athletes promised the coach that they would train vigorously and eschew bad habits.

Front 8

eulogy

Back 8

(n.) a formal statement of commendation; high praise.
the best friend and longtime law partner of the deceased delivered the eulogy at the funeral.

Front 9

feckless

Back 9

(adj.) lacking in spirit and strength; ineffective, weak; irresponsible, unreliable
Although a feckless youth, he eventually matured into a hard-working and responsible citizen.

Front 10

halcyon

Back 10

(n.) a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher,
(adj.) of or relating to the halcyon, clam, peaceful; happy golden; prosperous, affluent.
The teacher read the lengend of the halcyon, the mythinc bird that nested in a calm sea.

Front 11

intransigent

Back 11

(adj.) refusing to compromise; irreconcilable
Little will get accomplished if the legislators of both parties maintain their intransigent attitudes.

Front 12

maelstrom

Back 12

(n.) a whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction
Many innocent people caught in the maelstorm revolution lost their lives and property.

Front 13

nefarious

Back 13

(n.) wicked, depraved, devoid, of moral standards
Brutus and Cassius hatached a nerfarious plot

Front 14

pejorative

Back 14

(adj.) tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittiling

Front 15

piquant

Back 15

(adj.) stimulating to the taste or mind, spicy, pungent; appealingly provocative.

Front 16

reconnaissance

Back 16

(n.) a survey made for military purposes; any kind of perliminary inspection or examination.

Front 17

summarily

Back 17

(adv.) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely

Front 18

temporize

Back 18

(v.) to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision; to compromise

Front 19

undulate

Back 19

(v.) to move in waves a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form

Front 20

verdant

Back 20

(adj.) green in tine or color; immature in experience or judgment

Front 21

arrogate

Back 21

(v.) to claim or take without right

Front 22

articulate

Back 22

(v.) to pronounce distinctly; to express well in words; to connect

Front 23

avid

Back 23

(adj.) desirous of something to point of greed; intensely eager

Front 24

carping

Back 24

(adj.) tending to find fault, especially in petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way; (n.) petty, nagging, criticism

Front 25

credence

Back 25

(n.) belief, mental acceptance

Front 26

devious

Back 26

(adj.) straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded.

Front 27

dissemble

Back 27

(v.) to disguise or conceal, deliberately give a false impression

Front 28

emulate

Back 28

(v.) to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model

Front 29

exhume

Back 29

(v.) to remove from a grave; to bring to light

Front 30

germane

Back 30

(adj.) relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting